Aerating butter-separator.



A. BAY. AERATING BUTTER SBPARATOR.

APPL-IOATION FILED IBB. 19, 1912.l

Patented July 16, 191.2.y

f of which the following Uurrnn sra'rns PATENT FFICE.

ALPI-IELTS FAY, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

AERATING- BUTTEBi-SEPARATR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1912.

Application filed February 19, 1912. Serial No. 678,576.

v State of Kentucky, have invented a certain new and useful Aerating Butter-Separator,

is a specification. The object of my ziiyention is to provide improved means for till" performance of such processes in connection with the treatment of cream, milk or bli iter as requires either mechanical agitation or aeration or both.

The processes to which my invention is most applicable will hereinafterbe more fully described.

My object also is to simplify the construction of apparatus of this character, and to add to its efficiency and durability, I

My v'nvention consists in the details of construction and arrangement, as will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed.

ln the drawing: (Figure 1 isa perspective View of a device embodying my invention, parts of ythe Vessels being represented as broken away. FigQis avertical sectional view of the agitator and its shaft. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail of part of the bracket.

In my present invention, the device isI characterized by the coml'iination of a rotated agitator and a stationary brake to co-act therewith. The agitator 1 is of such design as to produce centrifugal impolling elfect on the liquid, and is mounted on a shaft 2, journaled and supported in a bracket 3, mounted to extend over the open top of lhovessel 4, in a suitable manner, to belater described. The transverse shaft 5, journaled in the bracket $5, has the bevel `gear 5 and the agitator shaft 2 has a bevel pinion 2 meshing with the gear 5. Preferably, as shown, the transverse shaft 5 extends over the upper end of the agitator shaft 2 and .carries its gear '5a outside the pinion 2a.

This constitutes the larger bevel gear a shield against entanglement of any object between 4the gear and pinion where they mesh, thus adding to the safety of operation of the device.

The bracket 3 comprises the main supportlentering thissocket 3d upwardly. The socket and shank are of circular cross-section, but the bracket 3 has a straight'shoulder 3d below and at one side of the socket 31-,while the subsbracket 2b has a straight side 2b that engages 'accurately with the straight shoulder when the shank enters the socket. This prevents turning of the sub-bracket- A set screw2c enters the socket 31 and engages with a depression in the shank, as I shown in Fig. 3. Preferably, the screw and the socket are so positioned, relatively, that tightening of the screw will draw the subaction of the screw-point on the inclined sides of the depression. By the above means, a firm but detachable bearing is afforded for the agitator shaft Q, below its pinion 2a. `An

upper bearing 2 is provided for the upper l end of the agitator shaft, in the part of the bracket 3 below the bearing 5 of the shaft 5.

By, having the lower bearing 2b detachable from the bracket, itis possible to press the pinion Qftightlyon the shaft 2 before it is put into the machine, as is necessary to avoid loosening of this pinion in service,.as t

has been the fault of machines where such a pinion must be pinned or fastened by set screw on its shaft. Thegear 5a may `be 47oA bracket up tight tothe bracket, by wedging pressed tightly onto its shaft 5, and the handle G, which is used for manually operating the machine,`may be suitably secured on the shaft after assemblage. y

The vessel 4 is supported on a base'e, which has a standard `3f at one side, with a head 3g having a socket to receive a shank 3f" of the bracket 3, extending down from the hub 3a thereof. Offsets 3g and Bn, on

the head 3g and hub 3f" respectively, engage to preventl turning of the bracket on the standard when they are assembled. The head 3 has ears 3g at one side, adjacent to each other, and a slit takes intotlre socket of the head, splitting this side of the head. A screw Sg" takes through the ears 3g and draws them together, so that the head is made to contract -on the shank 3f" and thus i hold the bracket rigidly on the standard.

is granulated or otherwise comminuted, it is loo necessary, 'to best facilitate the operations, to provide a means for readily withdrawing the liquids but to retain the solid parti- 4 cles. Vith this end in view, I provide an 5 inner vessel 4b, fitting closely within the vessel 4, and having a perforated bottom 4b. Handles 4b on this vessel 4b enable the operator to withdraw the `inner vessel with the solid substance, afterwhich the liquid may be drained from the vessel through the faucet 4a. If desired, said faucet maybe dispensed with, if found convenient to re- -move the vessel 4- from the ma ",hine, and j pour the liquid from it.- Thismay be eX- pedient ifjthe apparatus is of small size.

The brakes 7 and 7a that co-act with the agitator 1 are -eachcomposed of anupright strip, preferably of wood,;lying against the side's of the inner vessel 4b. The brake 7 eX- tends up into a socket 7 in the lower side of the lower member 3 of the bracket 3, :and a set screw 7. holds it therein. The lower end of this brake 7 bears firmly on the bottom ofthe vessel 4b, andthus holds the vessel against turning within the vessel 4f, as it may otherwise do, under the influence of the motion of the liquid in `the vessels. The other brake 7` also bears firmly against y the bottom of the vessel 4b, for the same purpose, and' is secured to the vessels lby a clip 7a taking over t-he rim of the vessel. This clip is of U-shaped formation to embrace the crossfsection `oflthe brake-strip, with each member of such'formation bent down to engage over the rim, and may be kconveniently formed of wire. Each brake strip is narrower throughout its middle region, with wider end parts, above and below, so that such middle regions lie away from the sides v.of the vessel. Also, these middle regions are perforated. Thus, the spaces be-l tween these regions and the vessel sides, and these perforations, afford an added agitat- Ving. effect on the liquid impelled against the brakes by the agitators. It will be understood'that theentire bottom and sides of the inner vessel 4b may be perforated, if desired, but usually perforation of the' bottom only, as shown, is suflicient, as well as more economical.

Theagitator 1 comprises the tubular shaft 1 and upper member l, integrally formed, as here shown, and a lower member lf attached'to the member 1. The tubular shaft is provided with a hub la', also preferably integral withit, and joining it by arms l", so that the upper end .of said tubular shaft is left open for the admission of air. The hub v1"? has. juxtaposed ears 1" at one side, and a slit intoits central opening dividesV that side, with the ears on opposite .sides of the division. A screw 1" takes through'the ears, and contracts the hub, on

. the shaft2, so that the agitator will rotater with the' shaft, and lis suppzfzted thereby,

but may, by loosening this screw, be adjusted up or down on the shaft 2, to accommodate the apparatus to different quantities of material to be operated upon. The bracket 3 is positioned high enough above the upper 70 rim of the vessel to allow the vesselv to be nearly filled with liquid, without the upper. open end of the tubular shaft la being submerged, if adjust-ed to its highest position, z'." e., with `the upper end of the hub 1ar against the lower side of the 'bearing or subbracket 2b. Y I t,

lEach member l or 1l of the agitator 1 comprises a plane body part 1" or 1b, respectively, that `of the upper one having bosses 1 on its periphery, while thelower one has upturned sides 1 [that surround the upper plane body part and have screws 1d taking in to the bosses 1 through vertical slots 1" in said g5 sides. This allows upward and downward adjustment of the lower member on the upper member, to be clampedin any desired adjustmentl by said screws. The sides 1 have a series of openings 1f, distributedl around the member, these openings being of somewhat elongated hexagonal shape, with angles'presented longitudinally: around the agitator,A As shown, and as I prefer to form this agitator, it is circular, or cylindrical. The upper member has a free, unobstructed opening from the interior of the tubular shaft 1b, around the shaft 2, to allow ready circulation of air, from the open up er end of the tubular shaft down into the 100 h'oiiow inte-rior of thc agitator, but the lower member fits snugly around the shaft, and thereby serves to support the agitator at its lower end, to maintain it concentric with its shaft. The parts may be conveniently cast, 105 of aluminum, the upper member and its tubular shaft and the hub 1b therefor being integral, and the cupped lower member with .its slotted and apertured sides being in a single piece. Preferably, the inner lower side of theupper member and the inner upper side of the lower member are concave to a slight extent, produced by dishing said members in their plane body parts.

I- have fund by experience that, although the sides of thisl agitator are cylindrical, and theagitator. is rotated on the axis of this o lndei', the impelling eifect produced by tiie friction of the liquid'with the parts of the agitator thus rotated, and the engage- 120 ment of the edges of the openings 1f, is ample 'for the purposes of my improved apparatus, under most conditions. 'Under this effect, a centrifugal action results, forcin the liquid away from the exteriors of said sides, and from the hollow interior of the agitator. Thus, a partial vacuum is produced in said hollow interior, and a iiow of air is induced down through thev tubular shaft, by atmospheric pressure, into the hol- 13,0v

low interior. This air, mixing with the liquid, will be carried out into the main body of liquid in the vessel, and a circulation of liquid andair will thus be set up in the liquid, amounting to a combined aerating and mechanical agitation. The brakes 7 compel this action by preventing the whirling of the main body of liquid, and b y breaking up'the air currents, through the spaces and perforations before described. It is desirable that this breaking-up of the currents be distributed into such various orifices these spaces and perfor-ations afford, so that there is thorough collision of the liquid particles, and of' the air particles with the liquid particles. The consequence of the operation is that the entire contents of the vessel are brought into a state of cbu-llition, or bubbling, resembling the"appearance ot boiling, alt-hough of" course no such temperature is ever used 4in lauter-treating processes, as boiling temperature is well known to be injurious to all milk products. It is by the utilization of the effects of boiling or ebullition, in a mechanical way, without entailing the injurious effects of h iat, that some of the more important results ofI the processes to be described are reached. By adjusting the lower member from the upper one, the effect off the agitator may be varied to suit the use to which the apparatus is applied.

lAs above described', the impelling effect is produced by the surface and peripheral partof the agitators only, leaving the interior thereof smooth and unobstructed; also that the openings in t-he sides, being polygonal, cause a congestion ot' the outward flow of the liquid and air from the interior, in the region of a plane surrounding the middle region, between the upper and lower plane body parts, due to the greater outflow from the widened parts of the openings. Also, the concavity of th'e interiors vof' the plane body parts conduces to this effect. This rcsults in a more intimate intern'iingling of t-he liquid and' air particles, adding to the completeness of the aeration while allowing undiminished mechanical agit-ation by' the upper and lower widened regionsI of the sides of the agitator between the openings.

For churning, sweet or sour cream, or sweet or sour whole milk, is placedgin the vessel 4, with the vessel 4,- in place, it used,

the 'agitator being adjusted, before described, to bring its impeller members about midway of the depth' of the body of liquid. If cream is used, its temperature may be from 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit-, while it' whole milkis used, the temperature should be somewhat higher, or from to 7() degrees Fahrenheit. The churning agitation and aeration is then kept up for a period of from three to five minutes, whenthebutter will have become thoroughly vseparated from the cream or milk, by ebullition taking place residue will be in a uniformly liquid state.

I t' whole milk has been used, the residue will contain all the milk solids except the butter,

and it' the milk was sweet, this residue -will be sweet and palatable. The inner vessel 4" is now raised and placed on the rim of the outer vessel 4, in tilted position, so that the residue is completely drained from this inner vessel, and then is withdrawn from the outer vessel through the faucet 4?. The vessel 4", with the butter particles therein, is now replaced in the outer vessel 4, and the bracket and agitators, which, were, of course, removed before raising the vessel 4b, are again placed in operativeposition. A suitable quantity of pure water is now added, preferably at a temperature of fromv 5() to 55 degrees lt`ahrenheit. The butter particles arenow agitated and aerated in this body of cool water, increasing the thorough ness ot' separation of the residue. rl`his body of water, contaminated by the residue thus scparatml, is drawn off, with the inner vessel raised as above described. The butter will now have reached a granulated condition, the granules approximating the gran ules of sugar, as ordinarily seen on the markel.

The butter is now ready for salting, preparatory to working the butter into the solid consistency that itis to ha re for use. l4`or salting the butter, asolution ot' a pint of salt to a gallon of water is applied to the butter'granules in the vessels, which has again been lowered in the vessel 4. temperature of this solution should be 'from 5() to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The agitatoris again applied, and the agitation and aeration resumed, preferably at reduced speed, for about 2l() to Gt) seconds` bringing salt particles into intimate relation with every particle of thc granular butter. On conipletion ot this operation, the vessel 2" may be again raised and the salt solution withdrawn. The butter mass may be drained of `a desirable hardness ot the butter granules throughout the operations, which results .in a finished product of the finest texture, after final working or pressing. All of the parts being readily disassembled, and being of open forn'iation, cleansing of the apparatus is now done with ease. The brakes 7 and 7a, are easily removable from the vessels, for raising the vessel 4b, or for cleaning, the former being removed along with the bracket and agitator, while the latter is readily detached and attached to the vesselfside, by means of` It may be noted that, in churning sour milk, 'and for other operations for which it may be desired to use my apparatus, a reduced amountv of aeration is oftendesirable, or it may be desirable to entirely eliminate the aeration, and apply mechanical agitation,

' the combined air and liquid currents.

decreasing the aeration withoutdiminishing` with the accompanying centrifugal action producing liquid currents only, instead of To provide for this, there must be a means of interior had its volume unaltered, since this would tend to increase the .resistance of the apparatus, requiring greater effort'. in turning, unnecessarily. Ease of operation is one of the chief objects of my invention, and the perfect adaptation of the operative parts to special conditions tends to insure this `at all times. 'It will be seen that if Athe lower agitator member is adjusted to its highest position, bringing the plane body parts-toi gether, the aeration will be practically eliminatcd,lonly being of such'extent as resulted from inlet of air .through the slight apertures-left between t-he parts of the agitator. As will be noted Vin Figs. l and 2, the lower sides of the openings Vare'flush with the in ner, upper surface of the plane body part ofthe lower agitator member 1. This per- -mits uninterrupted exit of air and liquid from the agitator, and avoids the collection of butter or other solid particles within the. hollow interior thereof.

I have 'set forth the above churning process to 'illustrate the use of my apparatus,

and it will be understood that other advantageous uses will 'be suggested in the employment of my invention, and divers minor modifications may occur in such adaptation. Therefore, I do notwish to be understood as limit-ing .myselfv to the precise details herein'described, but

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

, 1. Ina device of the character described, anl agitator comprising a shell uniformly cylindrical interiorly and exteriorl closed at top and/bottom, exre'pt throng an atmospheric air inlet inr its top,"andhaving openings its convex sides, for theoutlet of air, the hollow interior of said shell being free and unobstructed.

2. In a device ofV the characterfdescribed, l

an agitatorr comprising a -shell uniformly cylindrical interiorly and exteriorly, closed at its top and bottomexcept through an atvmospheric inlet in its top, and having openings in its convex sides, for the outlet of air, said openings being of hexagonal formation. 8. In a device of the character described, an `agitator comprising a shell uniformly cylindrical interiorly and exteriorly, closedv at its top and bot-tom, except through an atmospheric inlet in its top, having openings in its convex sides, for the outlet. of air,

said openings being of hexagonal formalA tion with wider parts alined medianly'of: said convex sides between top and bottom.. thereof. I

4. In a device of the character described, an agitator comprising a shell uniformly cylindrical interiorly and exteriorly, closed'- at its top and bdttom, except through an atmospheric inlet in its top, having openings in its convex sides, for the outlet of liquid and air, said openings being of hexagonal formation with wider parts alined medianly of said convex sides between top and bottom thereof, and saidl top and bottom of the shell. being concave inside the hollow interior. ofthe shell to medianly congest the outflow of liquid and air, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5. In a device of the character described, an agitator comprising a disk-shaped member and a cup-shaped member uniformly cyv lindrical inter'iorjly andexteriorly, embracing the disk-shaped member, said cupshaped member having openings in its con-l vex sides, and having slots in said sides, and fastening means through said slots to said disk-shaped member, to secure the cu shaped member in adjusted positions on tie bers having an air inlet through it, said openings vin the sides of the cup-shaped member being air outlets.

'Guelfi '.a device of the character'described, an agitator comprising avdisk-shapedmember and a cup-shaped member embracingl with its upper end open, and a hub and arms attaching said hub to Saidupper end.

7. In a device of the character" described,l the 'combination of a vessel, abrakein the4 vessel, and a hollow agitator uniformly cy 110 dislcsliaped member, and one of said memf lindriealinterorly and exterioriy, with openings 1n its convex sides and an au' inlet to its top, the hollow interior of said shell being 'free and unobstructed., and means for.

rotating said agitator.

8. In a device of the character described, an outer vessel, an inner perforated vessel, agitating means inthe vessels free from engagement therewith, a bracket supporting the agita-ting means, and a brake to eopeiate With the agitating means, attached to the blracket and bearing` against said inner Vesse 9. In a device of the character described, an ilnpellingmember capable of rotation and presenting edges oniy in direction of rotation, and presenting unobstrneted surfaces otherwise, whereby said surfares act riotionaliy, without inlpat, on liquid in which they may be immersed, to inipei it 2o .oeiiti-ifugaiiy.

ALPHEUS FAY.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE PEnnEW, Crus. C. DAVIS. 

